Consideration
I regularly check out Blogography. Dave has a great way of being candid about sometimes touchy sometimes trivial events. Although his site is definitely rated "M" for mature, I find it funny and pretty spot on. His recent post about an inconsiderate cell-phone yakker prompted some thoughts about consideration. Yes, that word that we all heard from mom but didn’t quite know what the heck it meant until we hit early 30′s. See, consideration, or the-lack-there-of, is my biggest pet peeve. I find it completely mind-boggling when other folks show a complete disregard for their fellow man. I’m not talking about not giving to charity or anything, I’m talking about stuff like littering, and talking on a cell in a public place. I mean, that kind of stuff reeks of inconsideration, which to me is nothing more than someone thinking more highly of themselves than all others. I know this sounds like I’m preaching, but really, wouldn’t the world be better if we were all just a little more considerate?
Take my recent airport experience for example. I did see a few "meltdowns" as some weary travelers felt that this was a direct personal attack against them, like Delta was intentionally keeping them from getting home. There was a guy on the plane that was probably the biggest jerk I’ve ever come across. For instance, you know that moment when the plane finally eases into the gate, the "fasten seatbelt" sign goes off and everyone stands up to collect their bags? Well, everyone is now standing in the aisle, waiting to get off, and this guy starts pushing people out of the way to try and get off. Like no one else had spent 15 hours in the airport and no one else was eager to get off the plane. I mean, c’mon! Are there really people out there who don’t have a clue that they share this world with the rest of us?
So here’s what I propose to whoever reads this (which is really very few apparently, so my impression may be short-lived), let’s all really make an effort to think of how our actions will affect other people. Let’s not litter, let’s not leave our junk for someone else to clean up, let’s not take the first empty seat if others are available, let’s not talk on our cellphones in public places if we can help it. If we can’t, then let’s be discreet, go somewhere, cover the mouthpiece, lower your volume. Let’s just be thoughtful, considerate. How ’bout it?
